HarrisMartin’s California Asbestos Litigation Conference: Trial of a Cosmetic Talc Mesothelioma Case Speaker Profiles

Scott Frost is a partner at Waters Kraus & Paul and practices in the firm’s Los Angeles and Dallas offices. Scott is an experienced litigator who tries benzene exposure and defective medical device cases along with asbestos exposure and mesothelioma cases. He is licensed to practice law by the state bars of California, Texas, Georgia, Kentucky, and Indiana. He is also accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and he formerly served with the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the U.S. Army. Scott is a cum laude graduate of Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, and earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law. While serving in the United States Army, Scott was appointed as a Special Assistant United States Attorney. In that capacity, he tried cases on behalf of the United States in District Court in Waco, Texas and earned the victim assistance award. Scott is a graduate of Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyer’s College. Since 2000, Scott has successfully tried asbestos cases across the country. He has been recognized in Texas Monthly magazine on the 2005 Law & Politics Texas Rising Stars list and again from 2014 through 2017 on the Southern California Super Lawyers list published by Thomson Reuters. Scott is also a frequent presenter at asbestos conferences. His pro bono work includes of counsel appointments by the Public Justice Foundation for asbestos removal litigation involving the St. Louis Airport, the Fort Worth Cowtown Inn project, and St. Bernard Parish. Scott is a member of the American Association for Justice and is the co-chair of the Asbestos Litigation Section. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, the Kentucky Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia, and the State Bar of Texas.

Steve Nichols is at his professional best when advocating on behalf of clients in the courtroom. As a trial attorney, he partners with clients to develop innovative approaches to case handling. His 34 years of jury trial experience enables him to understand the challenges and concerns of clients, and to respond by providing answers and strategies that address them. Steve's approach consists of developing innovative case-handling and trial strategies that focus on the details that are important to jurors and not necessarily on what others have traditionally done in similar cases. He provides a logical, precise presentation of evidence and argument all directed at achieving the client’s desired results.

David Katzenstein is a litigator with over 30 years of experience in the defense of personal injury and commercial cases in the New Jersey and New York having tried cases in these states as well as Delaware and Maryland. David has also served as Joint Medical Counsel in New Jersey and currently is National Coordinating Counsel for several clients mass tort cases. David has substantial trial experience in the "low dose" and epidemiology-based defenses of asbestos cases, having tried more than 15 such cases to verdict in New York and New Jersey. In addition, he has experience with the State of the Art defense of asbestos cases in several jurisdictions. In addition to his mass tort experience, David has handled complex federal and state environmental cases in New Jersey and New York courts.

Mary McKelvey is a fierce and highly respected trial attorney who is influential in every aspect of her career, i.e. in litigating difficult cases for national and global clients, in handling high stakes pro bono cases, in successfully assuming leadership positions at the state and local bar levels, in supporting the next generation of women lawyers, in mentoring at-risk non-lawyer women, and in proactively volunteering in the community. In addition to trying cases, Mary has extensive experience in all stages of litigation including trial preparation, taking and defending percipient and expert witness depositions, developing innovative case handling strategy during discovery, and drafting complex pleadings and arguing dispositive motions in both state and federal court. Mary masterfully presents complex facts, concepts, medical vocabulary, historical data, scientific data, and other complicated issues in ways that jurors can understand and use to arrive at a fair and just decision.

Mary has a deep passion for pro bono work and serves as the Pro Bono Coordinator for Polsinelli’s Los Angeles office. In her own words, “Doing pro bono work has allowed me glimpses into realities I would not otherwise have encountered. It has allowed me a multi-dimensional perspective on important issues such as immigration policies and the effectiveness of our criminal justice system. It has allowed me to assist others that I would never even have had the privilege of encountering but for my handling of their matter on a pro bono basis.